“We shall see,” she muttered. “Though you say you want revenge, I fear the blood of your tribe is still strong.”
Panic set in. “No,
sayyeda
. I—”
“So we’re going to consider this your test, djinni,” she went on. “Shortly, you will be called upon by a human female. Pleasure her in each and every way she requests. And corrupt her soul for my glory. When you are done,
if
you’ve succeeded with no complications, you will have that revenge we both so eagerly seek. If you fail…” Her expression hardened, and those eyes that had seemed bright and oh-so alluring before turned to hard, icy chips of glass. “I will send you to the Pits of Jahannam, just like Nasir. And you will know pain like you’ve never imagined. Are we clear?”
Pain versus pleasure? That wasn’t even a question. He bowed. “Yes,
sayyeda
. Your wish is my command.”
CHAPTER TWO
Stop stalling…and get on with that seduction
.
Claire’s pulse skipped as Sura’s words echoed in her mind. Her friend had told her which atoll the bottle had washed up on in the Marshall Islands, but it had taken Claire a good two weeks of searching the beaches to locate the bottle herself.
Now, with the firebrand opal sparkling under the late afternoon sun, the chain of the necklace falling through her fingers, all Claire could think about was the fact this necklace was linked to a djinni in another realm. A thrill rushed through her when she imagined him wearing one just like it, followed by a gut-twisting shot of nervousness.
Angels and djinn were not encouraged to interact. It was a rule of her order she’d not bothered to question before. Now though… Now she couldn’t help but wonder why.
Palms swayed overhead as she ran her fingers along the smooth stone, alive with reds and yellows and oranges. Waves lapped gently against the shore and the white sand was warm beneath her body, but a chill still spread through Claire.
Opening the bottle had been uneventful. She’d expected some cataclysmic event, but the ground hadn’t even rumbled. All she’d felt was a whoosh of air, almost like a sigh, and then the amulet had fallen into her hand.
The sorceress was now back in the djinn realm. Claire knew opening the bottle had freed her. But if the laws of the cosmos held true, Zoraida couldn’t cross to the human world until the soul of the one who wore the opal was corrupted. Only then could she come here and take Claire’s soul. And Claire had no intention of letting that happen.
It’s all up to you
…
Before any djinn could corrupt her and make her lose all focus except for pleasure, she planned to do exactly what Sura had guessed. She’d seduce him, convince him to take her back to his world, and then she’d find the other opals and set herself free.
Of course, for that to happen, Claire had to put the damn necklace on.
Her skin grew hot, and all kinds of erotic images popped into her mind. Things she’d read in books and seen in videos in the hopes of figuring out what a pleasure slave would expect a human to fantasize about. She had to admit, she’d been shocked. All the popular romance novels seemed to focus on bondage and multiple partners and sex, sex, sex. Was that what human women wanted? Was that what a pleasure slave would expect her to want? Though she had to admit some part of what she’d read excited her, she didn’t understand it, nor was she sure she could go through with any of it. She’d tried sex a few times, just after she’d been banished—mostly because she’d been curious about a temptation that got so many humans in trouble—but it hadn’t been anything like she’d read. Either she’d done it wrong or she just couldn’t be pleasured. Maybe she wouldn’t be able to enjoy sex until the opals were finally destroyed.
That thought didn’t ease her anxiety. She chewed on her lip, gazed down at the opal, and tried to think logically. She wasn’t as unintelligent as the High Seven thought. If anything, she’d discovered just how smart she was since becoming mortal. And even with the myriad emotions running through her, she’d think this through and come out the winner in the end. Because it was the only thing she could do.
So stop stalling and get on with it
…
She clasped the necklace at her nape before she could change her mind. If she couldn’t enjoy sex, she’d fake it. The pleasure slave bound to this necklace was djinn. He was ruled by his own desires. He’d probably never know the difference.
She drew a deep breath and traced her fingers over the opal as she stared out at the rolling waves and the warm turquoise water of the private lagoon. She’d rented this small hut on purpose. So that whatever happened would be shielded from any prying human eyes. Only about fifty people lived on this atoll—most congregated near the one main village —but still, the last thing she needed to do was expose a djinni to human eyes. If she did, no doubt the High Seven would think of a new torturous punishment for her.
“Come to me,” she whispered. “Fulfill my desire.”
“Your wish, my command,” a voice echoed at her back.
Shit, that was fast. Claire whipped around and squinted up at the shadowy figure. He was tall, but with the sun shining at his back, she couldn’t see much else. His voice though… Just the sound of the deep, raspy tones sent a thrill through her entire body.
Which was just downright weird.
She pushed to her feet and faced him. He had shoulder-length dark hair. Tanned skin. Chiseled muscles covered in nothing but lightweight cotton pants. And his face… Her stomach tightened at the strong jaw, lush lips, and piercing black eyes staring back at her.
His master obviously knew how to make a mortal weak in the knees. She’d sent not just a pleasure slave but a pleasure god.
Heat burned Claire’s cheeks, and she wiped her sweaty palms on her khaki shorts, feeling suddenly…nervous. She should have done something with her hair. She’d let the unruly curls dry on their own, and she hadn’t even run a brush through them yet. At least she’d left the nerdy glasses in her hut.
“Um, hi. I’m Claire.”
That was smooth
.
One side of his mouth curled, and oh lovely, he had dents in his face. Really sexy, dents that sent flutters all through her belly. “Claire,” he breathed. “A very beautiful name for a very beautiful woman.”
It was a line. A really bad line. One that should have made her roll her eyes but didn’t. Because all she could focus on was the way he said her name. As if his tongue were caressing the syllables. Which made her wonder…what would it feel like to be caressed by that tongue?
Tricky djinni
. He was playing her. Messing with her head. Djinn had that power. She wasn’t about to fall for it. She straightened her shoulders.
Remember who’s in control here
.
She was. She couldn’t forget that. She gave herself a mental slap and squared her shoulders. “And what is your name? Or would you prefer I just call you djinni?”
The smile faded, and his brow wrinkled. “You know what I am.”
“Of course I do. Do you think I put the opal on and summoned you by accident?”
“I’m…not sure what to think. You are” —his gaze slid down her body— “not what I expected.”
Those nerves came back full force. He couldn’t possibly know what she was, could he?
No. He couldn’t. She tamped down the panic. She was banished. Her powers were bound. He couldn’t tell. No one could. Reminding herself of that fact, she realized he was hitting her with another line. The way he was studying every inch of her body, the heat in his stare… He wanted to put her on edge. And, dammit, she was. Her skin heated, and she couldn’t help but shift her weight. No human had ever looked at her like that. Like she was a meal he wanted to devour.
Think. Don’t let him manipulate you
. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, took stock of what he was seeing. Definitely not perfection. When the High Seven had banished her to the human realm, they’d picked an unremarkably ordinary human body for her to serve out her punishment. Her legs were too long, her body straight instead of curvy like women should be, her breasts no more than mosquito bites, really. Normally, she didn’t care what she looked like, but suddenly she did. Suddenly, she wished she’d taken time to highlight her blue eyes—the only part of her body she truly liked—and put on a skirt instead of the shorts that made her look like a flamingo.
Which again, was just freaking weird. She never cared what she looked like. What was wrong with her?
She shook off the thought. “You still haven’t given me your name.”
“Curious,” he said. “I like that. My name is Ashur. And I have been sent to fulfill every one of your desires. ”
Ashur
… Her entire body lit up like a firework.
She fought back the excitement and nerves that seemed to come out of nowhere and glanced around the small cove. Even though it was fairly secluded, that didn’t mean it was completely private. A road ran along the ridge, and every now and then, locals wandered this way to and from town.
She gestured toward her hut on the edge of the beach, surrounded by palms. “Why don’t we take this inside and then discuss the details of…”
The words trailed off as heat burned her cheeks all over again. She swallowed hard.
He chuckled. “Your pleasure? Yes, let’s. I’m as anxious to get started as you.”
The comment caught her off guard. He was anxious? Why?
She looked down at the hand he held out for her even as a tingling ignited in her belly and slinked lower. “Come, Claire. Let’s begin.”
Begin? Why did that word set warning bells off in her head?
And why, sweet Allah, didn’t she care?
* * *
A jolt rushed through Ashur’s entire body when Claire placed her hand in his. He looked up at her face, narrowed his eyes and searched her features for…what, he wasn’t sure.
Did he know her? Had they met somewhere he just couldn’t remember? He let his senses guide him, but didn’t pick up anything unusual from her. She was human, not djinn, so there was a slim chance they’d met before—albeit very slim. In his younger years, he’d crossed over to the human realm a few times, mostly out of morbid curiosity of a race he didn’t understand, but when his father had found out he’d forbidden Ashur to cross again. He hadn’t been in the human world in years, and judging from Claire’s late-20-ish age, that last trip had likely been when she was a child. But still…there was something familiar about her. Something different. Something…enticing he couldn’t define.
His mind spun as she led him toward the hut she’d motioned to moments before. The sweet scent of gardenias rose in the air around him. As he followed. Stepping inside, he took in the interior. It was small—only three rooms. An archway opened to a kitchen to his right, and ahead a door led to what he suspected was a bathroom. But the main room of the hut housed a sitting area complete with couches and tables on a bamboo floor, and beyond that a four-poster bed covered in mosquito netting.
He waved his hand, calling up a power he hadn’t used in months. Candles on the bedside tables sparked to life and slow music from speakers somewhere in the room filled the space.
“Clever,” she said. “I wish I could do that. She turned to face him. Drew in a breath. Blew it out. “So how does this work? Do we just…you know…get down to business?”
She was nervous. Which was good, because it meant he wasn’t the only one. Trust before pleasure. The words were engrained in his mind. Even though his stomach churned with excitement, he needed her to relax in order for this to go as planned.
“May I sit?” he asked, gesturing to the couch.
“Um. Sure, I guess.” She frowned. “Sorry. It’s not every day you summon a pleasure slave, you know?”
He chuckled and eased down onto the cushions. “Why did you summon me, Claire?”
Her cheeks turned the slightest shade of pink, and again he had the sensation that she wasn’t what she seemed. She sat on a chair opposite him before he could let his thoughts get away from him. And then he was too entranced by her to do anything but watch the way she twisted her hands in her lap, shifted them to the cushions beneath her, finally sat on them as if she were trying to stop herself from doing something totally out of character. Like grabbing him.
Grab me
, maya.
The thought came out of nowhere and sent another jolt through his system. Except this one was heat and life and excitement. And he welcomed it. After all his months of prison and training, he was as anxious to—what had she called it?—get down to business as her.
She wasn’t exotic like Nuha, or breathtakingly beautiful like Zoraida, but she was pretty—big blue eyes, wavy auburn hair, and a tiny scar near the corner of her mouth that made him wonder what those lips felt like, what they’d taste like against his tongue. Her body, from what he could see, was long and lean, like an athlete, and he couldn’t wait to see more. But the spark he caught in her eyes when she looked at him told him she was sizing him up in the same exact way, and the “more” would have to wait.
“Well?” he asked.
“Isn’t it obvious?” she said with a lift of her chin. “What reason does a woman have for summoning a pleasure slave except for pleasure?”
Add quick to her list of attributes. He smiled and relaxed further into his seat. “Most have a reason. A recent breakup, loneliness, general curiosity, even a desire to learn a new technique.”
He lifted his brows in anticipation of her answer, which in turn made her roll her eyes, and he found himself laughing. “I can teach you a great many things. Whatever you like. However and whenever. Until you’re satisfied. That is my job.”
Her cheeks turned even pinker. “I know.”
She bit her lip. Seemed to be thinking over what she wanted to say. And as he waited, he realized her reaction was not what he’d expected. Aside from that strange feeling he got near her, he sensed there was something more than mere distrust at the root of her hesitation. “I take it you don’t want me to teach you anything?”
“No it’s not that. I just…didn’t expect the discussion part to all of this.”